Manly Sea Eagles vs Cronulla Sharks preview and teams – NRL 2013 Round 6

The first NRL Round 6 match today is between Manly Sea Eagles and Cronulla Sharks. The opening kick is set to commence at 2pm with the game to be played at Brookvale Oval. The home team the Manly Sea Eagles are the current favourites for the match in the odds. View our preview and teams for the game betwen Manly Sea Eagles and Cronulla Sharks.
Brookvale Oval
Sunday 2pm

Featured Bookmakers:

Manly Sea Eagles $1.20 vs Cronulla Sharks $4.75 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Manly Sea Eagles $1.16 vs Cronulla Sharks $5.40 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison:

Manly Sea Eagles 1.20 1.20 1.16 1.20 1.20 1.20
Cronulla Sharks
4.75 4.70 5.40 4.70 4.75 4.70

Preview:

 

Watch Out Sea Eagles: Emotion has ebbed and flowed in the Cronulla camp in recent weeks – but it could well be on hand again in this traditionally intense battle. Form, outside influences and other distractions go out the window when the Sharks meet the Sea Eagles, and that’s perhaps Manly’s biggest danger come Sunday.
Cronulla’s form has been poor, too – and some of their biggest stars understandably distracted – in recent weeks, but that should not be considered any sort of gauge approaching in this clash.
Watch Out Sharks: If Manly absorb the expected early challenge and come through an opening-minutes assault unscathed, it could be a long afternoon for the folks from the Shire.
Manly are nearing top form, as their recent results indicate. They lead or are near the top of a lot of key statistics categories – points (22.8 per game – fourth), tries scored (4.2 per game – equal third), metres gained (1451.4 per game – first) and metres conceded (1206.8 per game – first) – for a simple reason: they’re one of the best teams in the competition. And they’ll go a long way in 2013. The Sharkies could be swallowed whole.
Plays To Watch: Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran’s show-and-go magic tricks at the defensive line; Anthony Tupou’s athletic efforts to promote the football – with his enthusiastic support players one step behind; scheming centre Jamie Lyon running rings around his centre opponents – again. (Why can’t he do it in a Blues jumper? Please?)
Key Match-Up: Brett Stewart v Michael Gordon. Brilliant, ballsy and bustling – there’s no better one-on-one battle this Sunday at Brookvale than that of the No.1s.
Sea Eagles fullback Stewart and Sharks custodian Gordon are two players in red-hot form, and their duel will be worth the price of admission alone. Their styles aren’t too dissimilar, either – both are helter-skelter, probing, inspirational and reliable fullbacks who understandably play key roles in their team’s victories.
‘Snake’ mightn’t have crossed for many four-pointers this season – he’s only scored one – but he’s recorded four try assists, three line-break assists and two line-breaks. It was his dash from long range, shrugging under would-be Bulldogs tacklers, that set up Jamie Lyon for a crucial try last week.
Gordon, meanwhile, has been a bright light in Cronulla’s at-times-dark 2013 campaign. One of Cronulla’s few true attacking threats, Gordon has already scored three tries, made four line-breaks and broken 24 tackles.
Both No.1s deserve to be considered for higher honours – and this duel could be a barometer for selectors to determine exactly where they’re both at physically and mentally before the State of Origin series begins.
Where It Will Be Won: Up the guts – who’s going to lay the winning platform?
In recent weeks Cronulla have looked decidedly weak in the centre of the park – expect Geoff Toovey to have taken note of the fact Parramatta ran for 1427 metres last week. If the flimsy centre-field ‘D’ isn’t remedied by coach Flanagan and his troops, it could be a long afternoon for Cronulla’s travelling fans.
Cronulla concede the third-most metres in the competition – more needs to be done by their big men Gallen, Ross, Fifita, Lewis and Graham if they’re any chance of making an impact on the competition in 2013. And if they’re any chance of beating a very professional, focussed and committed Manly side on Sunday.

Teams:

 

Manly Sea Eagles:
Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai, David Williams, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Brenton Lawrence, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Justin Horo, Tom Symonds.
Interchange: Richie Fa’aoso, Joe Galuvao, Jamie Buhrer, Jason King

Cronulla Sharks:
Michael Gordon, Nathan Stapleton, Ben Pomeroy, Stewart Mills, Beau Ryan, Chad Townsend, Jeff Robson, Andrew Fifita, John Morris, Ben Ross, Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Paul Gallen (c)
Interchange: Chris Heighington, Jayson Bukuya, Isaac De Gois, Anthony Tupou, Sam Tagataese, Mark Taufua (two to be omitted).

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